Dieting has so many connotations of ‘giving something up’ or not enjoying food or even feeling hungry.
Its safe to say no wonder so many people hate their “diets”
But do you need to have this kind of relationship with making changes to your eating habits?
Definitely not…
When you start a diet with high motivation and good intentions, the chances are you know you will not maintain those dietary changes for more than a few weeks or even days before reverting to eating your usual foods.
Because you believe you are depriving yourself of what you like, eventually that motivation will fade and you will be back to where you were and may even binge because you have been deprived.
You have to understand we are always seeking to move toward pleasure and away from pain….
^^^^^It comes down to this at the most basic level of all our actions and emotions both conciously and unconsciously.
For example; you link more pleasure to eating the foods you like and link pain to dieting and that is simply why you cant maintain it.
Here’s what to do then….
STOP DIETING.
How can I say this?
Because there is a better way to make a permanent change…
Here’s what to do…..
Start with one area of your food that you want to improve and make 1 small change.
Sound simple?
It is..
For instance, if you eat 3 takeaways a week religiously on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday begin by reducing it to 2 nights a week for a month where you will cook instead. After 1 month reduce it again to 1 night a week takeaway and cook a meal instead.
Or
If you have 2 sugar in your teas/coffees reduce it to one and half then one a few weeks later or if you can use a sweetener like Stevia instead.
Or
If you use full fat milk daily, reduce to semi skimmed then eventually skimmed.
Next up..if you are only eating 2 portions of veg a day, begin by adding another portion. This could be mixed into a meal.
If you dont do well with breakfasts, make a healthy smoothie the night before and when you wake up start by having a small glass of your smoothie. This will start getting you used to wanting to eat in the mornings and prevent mid mornings or afternoons binges.
This works because by gradually making a small change, you don’t feel like you are being restricted.
Restriction = Pain
If what you are removing feels hard you will perceive it as pain. This is psychologically a bad place to be if you want to build momentum.
You can still having takeaways and you couldn’t have those on a diet could you? Yo can still have some sweetness but gradually reducing sugar will prevent cravings and keep you feeling good.
A single degree change can have a huge impact in the weeks and months down the line with very little effort
This is also known as the compound effect. As you can see in the image above, a small change over a period of time will produce a big and measured change to health and weight.
So if you are thinking about doing a huge calorie reduction or drinking soup and shakes for a week, ask yourself how long will I keep this going? Is is sustainable? Which would be better a small change with little effort now with long term results or a miserable quick fix that is unsustainable and will likely result in me binging and overeating when I eat normally again?
